The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden

The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden is a living symbol of the peace and friendship that exists between Saint Paul and its sister city Nagasaki, Japan. A renowned landscape designer in Nagasaki, Masami Matsuda, created the garden according to time honored Japanese design principles using plants and trees that are hardy in Minnesota. Infused with true Japanese design, the garden is meant to delight your senses. The Japanese Garden is open May through September.

A BIT OF HISTORY

In a country as densely populated as Japan, a garden provides a source of relief and serenity in crowded, urban areas. That peace can be found just north of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park, in the Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden. Like any garden, it is alive with beautiful things, making it a feast for the senses. On another level, it can be viewed as a metaphor for life’s journey, a place conducive to entering a meditative state, which calms and renews the spirit.

The garden’s design was a gift from the people of Nagasaki, St. Paul’s sister city, to the people of St. Paul. It was designed by Masami Matsuda, landscape architect from Nagasaki, as a peaceful retreat. Mr. Matsuda, however, gives credit to nature for the garden’s creation. Funds were donated by the family of Mrs. John G. Ordway. It was opened to the public in 1979, and completely renovated in 1990-1991 under Mr. Matsuda’s direct supervision.

Tea Ceremonies

The objective of a Japanese tea ceremony is relaxed communion between host and guests. It is based not only on the etiquette of serving tea, but on the precise performance and aesthetics of the centuries-old ritual, the beauty of the utensils, the simplicity of the surroundings, and the social aspects of experiencing the ceremony with others. All of these elements coexist in a harmonious relationship with the ceremony.

The ultimate aim is the attainment of deep satisfaction through silent contemplation and the drinking of tea. An authentic Japanese tea ceremony can last many hours.

Built in the style of a traditional Japanese teahouse, Como’s teahouse is made primarily of materials indigenous to Minnesota, and expresses pure Japanese taste. Its aesthetic intent addresses not a spirit of deficiency but of poverty freedom from external concern and awareness of essential inward values. Equally important is the spirit of tranquility. Together they reveal beauty in imperfection and insufficiency.

For the Japanese people, a teahouse and garden represent a mountain sanctuary within the city. The teahouse and gardens are our mountain sanctuary. Through participation, guests set themselves apart from the cares of the world.

One approaches the teahouse and its gardens by way of a gate, leaving the outside world behind. Only participants of the tea ceremony enter the inner secluded garden. This is not a large landscape scene. Dramatic views or unusually fragrant plants are not included. Simple, natural arrangements of trees and green leafy plants are desirable, as is foliage that makes a sound in the breeze.

PREPARATION FOR THE CEREMONY

Guests experience the details of the garden before entering the tearoom. Carefully placed stepping stones form a short path in the garden. They encourage introspection, bringing attention downward as you prepare to enter the tearoom.

Final preparation involves the washing of hands and touching the mouth at a special small stone basin called a tsukubai, which means ‘to crouch.’ While washing, one crouches on the flat smooth stone or mai ishi, which is one of the many stones placed around the stone basin.

INSIDE THE TEAHOUSE

After meditative preparation, you enter the tearoom by crawling through a small, low entrance, which brings you to an area that is in every way another world. Subdued lighting and the fragrance of incense greet you. The room is free of decoration except for the alcove, or tokanoma, set aside as a place of honor. A simple flower arrangement and a hanging scroll establish a tone of quiet, transient beauty for the gathering.

THE CEREMONY HOST

All the hosts of the tea ceremony volunteer their special skills. At least one certified tea instructor is present with a staff of other volunteers, who have studied tea for many years. The tea ceremony they perform has been taught in Japan from generation to generation by the Urasenke branch of the Sen family. We are most fortunate to have the support of these devoted individuals.

The tea ceremony at the Charlotte Patridge Ordway Japanese Garden lasts 45 minutes, and includes an explanation of the ceremony itself.

THE COST

The cost of a tea ceremony is $35, of which, a $5 donation is being made to Chado Urasenke Tankokai Minnesota Association (Yukimakia) to help in the recruiting and training of new tea students so they may continue their long tradition of presenting the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu) to the public at The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden. If you would like more information about opportunities to study and learn about the Chanoyu you can contact Yukimakai at [email protected]. Thank you and we hope you enjoy your experience.

JAPANESE LANTERN LIGHTING FESTIVAL AUGUST 23, 2015

Free shuttle bus service from the District Service Center located at 1930 Como Ave.

Bonsai, martial arts, singing, dancing, drumming, delicious food and other aspects of Japanese culture, will be featured at the annual Como Park Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival, a family-friendly event, reminiscent of Japan’s annual Obon holiday, on Sunday, August 23, 2015 on the grounds of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park.

Obon is an important Japanese cultural and family holiday, at which ancestral spirits are said to revisit their families for three days. Families pay their respects at grave sites and put out offerings of food and drink on a tray before household altars. They also light lanterns or small fires outside the house to symbolically guide the souls to the home. On the last evening of Obon, lanterns again guide the spirits back to their resting places.

The Lantern Lighting Festival encompasses Japanese tradition—through music, dance, crafts, martial arts and lanterns. The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory grounds will open at 3:00p.m., and live entertainment in the Como Ordway Memorial Japanese Garden and on the main stage will begin at 3:30p.m. Entertainment will include several taiko drumming groups, koto (Japanese sitar), shakuhachis (bamboo flutes), traditional and contemporary dance and singing. Martial arts, Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), origami demonstrations and a host of other cultural exhibits and demonstrations will line several paths through the grounds. Japanese food and dozens of culturally-related items will be for sale.

The day will culminate at dusk with the main event—the lantern lighting. Six stone lanterns and floating paper lanterns throughout the Japanese garden pond and the Frog Pond will create a vision of peacefulness and harmony to commemorate the dead.

The Como Park Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival, produced by Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Japan America Society of Minnesota, and Saint Paul Nagasaki Sister City Committee will be held on Sunday, August 23, 2015 from 3:00pm-9:00pm. Admission is $5.00 per adult (13+), $3.00 per child (ages 3-12) and Seniors (ages 65+), free for children under 3. Free shuttle bus service will be available from a staffed off-site parking lot at the District Service Center located at 1930 Como Ave.